Effectiveness of Selected Acupuncture Points LIV-1 (Dadun) - and GB-21 (Jian Jing) on Hypothyroidism: A Comparative study

BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism is a condition in which body lacks sufficient amount of thyroid hormone. It is the consequence of deficient secretion by the thyroid gland. Patients with this condition will have fatigue, weight gain, menstrual disorder, muscle cramps, insomnia, etc. Acupuncture is the oldest system of medicine where needles were inserted in the specific points in the surface of the body to produce uninterrupted flow of qi in the meridians. According to TCM, qi deficiency and deficient yang qi in the major zang organs are the causative factors. The functioning of the liver is affected in both western and TCM concept. So in this study we are comparing effect of the wood elemental point Liv-1 (Dadun) and endocrine point GB-21 (Jianjing) on hormonal regulation in hypothyroidism. DESIGN AND METHOD: A comparative study performed among 80 patients with hypothyroidism age ranging between 18-35years from the patients of Govt. Yoga and Naturopathy Medical College & Hospital, Arumbakkam. They were selected after satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and randomly assigned into Liv-1 group and GB-1 group. The acupuncture needling was given to both the groups for the duration of 20 minutes for 2 weeks in a month or alternate days for 15 days in a month for 3 months. Thyroid function test was used in pre and post assessment. RESULTS: The result showed a significant improvement in the thyroid function test in both groups. However there is no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: The result showed significant reduction in T3 and TSH levels in both Liv-1 group and GB-21 group and significant increase observed in T4 level. However, no significant difference was observed between the groups